Echo SRM225: runs butt dies when applying throttle

[snpower]

I had a friend give me his 1 year old 225; as the title says it dies when you advance the throttle. I do not have experience repairing weedeaters but I'd like to fix it if I can. I ran it, and you can depress the throttle all the way in choke, and the engine accelerates a bit, but bogs down. Move out of chock and if you depress very slowly, you once again get a little acceleration but the engine will soon die. I took off the carb, looked at the jet and the condition overall - it wasn't really dirty. Thought I'd ask for some troubleshooting help... looks like you can get a carb rebuilt kit easy enough but I don't want to order what I might not need! Thanks.

 

[s219]

Go over all fuel lines and check fuel pickup/filter. Make sure air cleaner is OK.

If no obvious issues, I'd try adjusting the low speed screw richer and see if that helps throttle response. Then maybe tweak the high speed screw the same way (can richen until it warbles / 4-strokes at full throttle and then back off a teeny bit).

But if this condition came on randomly, then it's most likely he left ethanol gas in the carb too long and something got messed up. In that case, rebuilding or replacing the carb is probably the best bet. A rebuild kit should be cheap, but definitely look over the carb body well to make sure there's no signs of blockage/damage. In some cases, even running the carb through an ultrasonic cleaner can't rescue it, so it has to be replaced.

Echo makes a very good quality unit, so it's worth fixing for sure.

 

[3930dave]

What S219 said.

When I've had to, I've replaced float valves/seats that were really crudded up.... but I prefer to not tear into carbs if I can avoid it...

1) If you haven't already, check the sparkplug. With bad gas, or a really heavy oil mix, even a plug that "young" may be an issue.

2) Try some Seafoam (added to gas, not pure). Run this mix as best you can to get it to circulate, then let it sit overnight. Try again.

Rgds, D.

 

[DHD]

Did you allow it to warm up at idle for a long enough period of time ?

These newer lean burning trimmers do take a much longer time to warm up than old trimmers did.
My 2 year old echo trimmer does the same thing as your trimmer when it's first started, and needs to sit and idle awhile (at least 3 or 4 minutes) before it will not hesitate when I advance the throttle.
My 3 year old Echo chainsaw acts the same way.
Once I get past these long warm ups, they preform really great.

My 10 year old husqvarna trimmer only requires maybe a 1 minute or less to warm up, before I can advance the throttle with out hesitation.
My 12 year old husqvarna chainsaw act like my old Husqvarna trimmer on warm up.

Another thing that might contribute to this hesitation issue, these Echo trimmers usually require at least 89 octane or high gasoline. The 87 octane may work, but the trimmer will start easier and run better on at least 89 octane.

 

[bullbreaker]

Besides advise given above ,make sure you put your fuel lines on correctly and not reverse them. If they are put on backwards unit will start and cut off after about 20 to 30 seconds. Don't ask me how I know !

 

[Bengineer]

That's a nice looking trimmer. So if the tank, filter, lines & primer bulb look ok with no cracks, etc. (good point about reversing the fuel lines, done that myself when replacing them), it would seem your carb high-speed circuit might be the culprit. Backing out the high needle valve doesn't help? I think I'd disassemble the carb & clean all the passages with carb cleaner. Keep the cleaner out of the primer bulb circuit, as it will swell the little plastic check valve (caveat - at least on my stihl edger). A year old, you can likely get the carb apart without ripping the diaphram or gaskets. Among other things, blow carb cleaner through it, check that the main jet spews cleaner. Wear eye protection! Carb cleaner is nasty stuff. Pix or an exploded view are good to get the diaphrams & gaskets back on in the right order.

The product website is here.. Would the 5-year consumer warranty help you out here?

 

[s219]

DHD makes a good point about warming up, to which I should add that my carb diagnostic/adjustment advice up above assumes a warmed up engine. Don't make the mistake of tuning the carb on a cold engine, since it will later run richer when it warms up!

 

[snpower]

Thanks for the input. Spark plug looked rough. Filed it a bit and she ran pretty good at full throttle. Got a new plug, fresh ethanol free gas + seafoam. Ran it for 5 minutes, then the behavior started up again. Depressing the trigger stalls it out. I should prob. get a carb kit; they are cheap enough. It all looked clean when I took it apart earlier though.

 

[murphy1244]

Thanks for the input. Spark plug looked rough. Filed it a bit and she ran pretty good at full throttle. Got a new plug, fresh ethanol free gas + seafoam. Ran it for 5 minutes, then the behavior started up again. Depressing the trigger stalls it out. I should prob. get a carb kit; they are cheap enough. It all looked clean when I took it apart earlier though.

Keep running sea foam thru it. it will clear up.

 

[whistlepig]

Sounds like a collapsed fuel line. Fuel line might look fine when it is not running but collapsing when it is running.